Chapter 31

             Simon enjoys his extra hour of sleep and feels refreshed. He’s been tired for so long during this last month as The Spektrum, but this might be another silver lining to his alter ego’s death.

            Cyndi waits by the music building, and he spots her on his way in. He walks over curiously.

            “Cyndi,” he says.

            “Huh?!” she says, startled. “What’re you doing out here?”

            “Oh, sorry, I probably should’ve said, we obviously get the last day of the semester off.”

            “Oh,” she says with a laugh. “Maybe you should have. I got here ten minutes ago just waiting for someone to come out.”

            “Sorry,” he says with his own laugh. “So, uh, how are preparations for the vigil tonight?”

            “Pretty good,” Cyndi says. “My friends have the candles, and Jenny will bring flowers.”

            “Nice.”

            “Though, it won’t be needed if The Spektrum is back,” Cyndi says with a coy smile as she leans in.

            “I don’t think that’s happening,” he says. “The other Codes still aren’t working.”

            “Oh,” Cyndi says. “Well, hey, maybe over the holidays, we go somewhere where we can be alone, and you try to unlock those Codes again.”

            “Unlock? They already are unlocked, they just won’t work.”

            “And maybe that’s because they’re locked,” she says. “I was thinking about it. You dying and coming back to life, and the Codes not being available, maybe it’s the special ability of Code Black.”

            “Huh. I never thought of that. You might be on to something.”

            “So then,” Cyndi says as she and Simon walk towards the quad, “all you have to do is train or fight or something, and you can get the other Codes back.”

            “That’s another thing I didn’t think about.”

            “Another thing? What’s the first thing?”

            “Uh… Y’know. Dating.”

            Cyndi blushes a little.

            “Really? Dating?”

            “Y-Yeah,” Simon nods nervously. “Depending on how things turn out, I might not have to worry as much anymore.”

            “So do you have anyone in mind?” Cyndi asks.

            “Yeah,” Simon nods as a smile slowly curls his lips.

            Cyndi smiles back and the two share a little laugh. Then the bell rings, and they head off to their classes.

 

            Wednesday afternoon, the Power Surge members gather at the underground headquarters of the renamed Reciprocity Incorporated. Metal-Head and Tyranno-shark were in their human forms, Alan and Hayden. This was the first time Randy and Vince from Red Oak, Iowa were meeting any of the others, but it is bittersweet given The Spektrum’s death is what brought them together.

            They all got the call Tuesday, about this emergency meeting in response to Spektrum’s death. Reciprocity wouldn’t explain why, only that it was urgent and none of them were allowed to miss it. Seth drove Jeff and himself to the airport but for many of the others, the SUVs were already waiting at the Power Surge homes.

            Among them, only Hayden, Alan, Tyler and Howie let their parents know about the Power Surge and Anonymous Inc. And now that Reciprocity Inc. had a public relationship with the American government, their families were able to accept things easier.

            Zoey, as Catgirl, wears the sequined mask from Vegas while also wearing black thigh high knee socks and a long sleeve tee.

            “Sporting a new look, huh?” cousin Jeff says as he comes over.

            “A slightly new look,” Seth adds. “That’s the mask The Spektrum got you, right?”

            “Yeah,” she says. “I decided to make these the new attire for Catgirl. The mask is so I can always remember him. The socks and sleeves are because winter is cold.”

            The three cousins chuckle, but Tiger scoffing gets her attention.

            “Why are you still here?” she says with a scowl. “You’re no hero.”

            Tiger just rolls his eyes and mutters things under his breath.

            “What was that?!” she snaps at him.

            “I didn’t say anything,” he says as he turns his chair away.

            “You’re forgetting who you’re talking to, idiot!” she says as she leans forward while pointing to her cat ears. “I heard what you said!”

            “Oh really? And what did I say?”

            “You said ‘Who cares about being a hero?’ But isn’t that why we’re all here? Because we’re meant to be heroes! But y’know what? You’re definitely not a hero. You’re just pathetic.”

            “Well I’m not the one who’s dead, now am I?” he sneers.

            In the same moment, Sophia gasps while the guys are varying levels of upset, but Catgirl has all but made it across the table as she lunges at Tiger! Tiger spins his chair to face forward again and now he’s upset, but Catgirl is just barely kept back by Seth and Jeff.

            “Whoa, Cuz, calm down!” Jeff says.

            “Oh you wanna go, pretty kitty?” Tiger says with a taunting grin. “Too bad your rainbow boyfriend won’t be around to help you this time. No more kicks to the balls for you.”

            “Shut your disgusting mouth, you piece of trash!” Catgirl shouts at him as Seth keeps her back.

            Her ears are back, the fur on her tail is standing on end and her pupils have become slits. To the others, she looks like an angry cat ready to fight, because she is.

            “You don’t get to talk about him!” she keeps going, almost foaming at the mouth. “He was a better person than you will ever be! He was more of a MAN than you will ever be! Because you’re not a man! You’re a slimy, disgusting, pathetic, piece! Of! Fffilth!!”

            There was such venom in her voice it shocks everyone but Tiger because he callously shrugs it off as just words. But Seth and Jeff had never heard their cousin talk like this, or seen her as angry as this. That in itself makes Jeff angry.

            “Cuz, Cuz,” Jeff says to her. “Calm down. Ochitsuku, ochitsuku.”

            Catgirl seethes, her teeth bared, her canines like fangs. But she lets herself breath and, though quivering, she settles down, as made clear by her tail lowering and the hair no longer standing on edge. Seth helps her back away but Jeff stays up, staring Tiger down.

            “And what do you want, porcupine?” Tiger taunts.

            “Y’know,” Jeff says. “Maybe Catgirl beats you in a fight, maybe she doesn’t.”

            Jeff looks at his hand as he makes sparks between his fingers. The crackling is fast and with a deep bass behind it.

            “But me,” he says as he stops the sparks. “No. You definitely don’t beat me.”

            “You so sure about that, sparkplug?” Tiger says.

            “Whoa now, gentlemen,” Darklite says as he enters the room. “Let’s not do something we might regret.”

            The tension in the room goes down and everyone takes their seats.

            “Let’s get to the business of why you’re all here,” Darklite continues. “I’m sure you all have questions as to the recent events. Our name change will not change anything, but having the President’s support will do wonders for us. Now we no longer need to hide behind the scenes. For example, Homeboy here no longer has to worry about fighting the Sons of Brooklyn like a vigilante. He can publicly confront them with Reciprocity troops supporting him.”

            “Really?” Homeboy says. “That’s… cool. I appreciate that.”

            “And that means the next time Metal-Head and Tyranno-Shark head out to hostile environments, they no longer have to worry about hiding from American troops, because now we can work in tandem with them.”

            “Cool,” Hayden says while Alan smirks and nods his head.

            “Now, in relation to this, there is the tragedy of The Spektrum,” Darklite says.

            Tiger returns to being apathetic, which makes Catgirl angry again.

            “With the threat of Zorb and his alien gangsters still looming,” Darklite continues, “we are working on a way to protect his hometown and be ready should Zorb return one day.”

            “What does that mean?” Catgirl asks.

            “It’s a bit complicated, but I’m sure we’ll have it all up and running sometime after the New Year,” he says. “But until such time, we need someone at the ready in San Leandro should Zorb or his henchmen appear again.”

            “So, what’re you saying?” Vince asks.

            “I’m saying that we will need to relocate someone to San Leandro, California while we work on the project.”

            Everyone looks around at the others, having noticed he said “relocate”.

            “So, one of us is moving to California?” Randy asks.

            “Well, that brings us to a rather awkward part of the discussion,” Darklite says. “I understand that Homeboy needs to stay in New York, because of the Sons of Brooklyn. Our new friends, Vastroyan and Rancor, are fine where they are in the Midwest, as is Sylfia. Metal-Head and Tyranno-Shark are a bit too much for what’s needed in San Leandro, and not only is Tiger too old for a high school, he works much better as an agent afloat, so to speak.”

            “Then, that just leaves the three of us,” Catgirl says.

            “Well to be clear, it was going to be you all along, Ms. Catgirl,” Darklite says. “You live in Alameda, which isn’t that far from San Leandro at all, so we can move you over and have you take The Spektrum’s place.”

            “Umm... Move?”

            “Well, yes,” Darklite says. “We can’t afford any delay in transporting someone, the crisis might be over by the time you arrive. We need you to be present at all times. Therefore, you and your family will move.”

            “You can’t do that,” she says. “We have a life in Alameda. I can’t just drag my parents with me because you want me to move.”

            “But it’ll be fine,” Darklite says. “Your parents will keep their jobs, and we even have a few locations picked out that will help with their commutes.”

            “But what about me?!” she says, her ears down and her tail sulking. “My friends are in Alameda, my boy—”

            She cuts herself off, not wanting to give that away to everyone.

            “I’ll move,” Seth says suddenly.

            She looks up at him.

            “Bro,” Jeff says. “What’re you saying?”

            “We’re in California, too,” Seth says. “I’m a senior, which means I’ll be graduating, so I’m going to be on my own eventually. Moving to a new place will be a good practice run for college and when I move out in a year or so.”

            “Yeah, but… We were going to have that extra year to do stuff.”

            “Well, sometimes plans don’t go the way you want,” Seth says. “But my cousin should stay with her friends. Alameda still needs someone watching it, too.”

            “Then I suppose that’s decided,” Darklite says. “We’ll send Fox to San Leandro. I’ll have our people get on the arrangements and have you settled in by New Year’s. Meeting adjourned.”

            Catgirl looks between her cousins, and sees the sadness under the stern resolution. A sense of guilt and frustration wells up in her chest.

            “No,” she says as Darklite stands up from his chair. “Fox isn’t moving to San Leandro.”

            “Cat, it’s fine,” Seth says.

            “No it’s not fine,” she says. “You should have that extra year, for your mom and dad.”

            “So then, are you taking the position?” Darklite asks.

            Catgirl feels her throat clenching, but gulps the sadness down.

            “Yes,” she says sternly. “I’ll move to San Leandro.”

            “Great!” Darklite says. “We’ll get the paperwork for your family moving and your transfer of schools in before the end of the day.”

            “But,” Catgirl says again. “I have conditions.”

            Darklite looks at Catgirl with some intrigue.

            “And those are?” he asks.

            “I know that my school isn’t much better these days,” she says. “Even if the thugs showing up aren’t as bad as those aliens, Encinal needs heroes to protect it.”

            Her cousins look at her curiously.

            “Are you suggesting we move someone in to replace you?” Darklite asks, as if reading their minds.

            “Yes,” she says. “If you’re moving me over, move them up.”

            “Cous, you serious?” Jeff asks. “You just argued against not making Fox move.”

            “It’ll be different,” she says. “You’ll be moving together, along with Auntie and Uncle. And when whoever this permanent replacement is for The Spektrum, Mom, Dad and I will move back, and the whole family will be together again.”

            Her cousins see her game, and that makes them a bit more reasonable.

            “But even so, in the middle of the year?” Jeff asks.

            “Kari-chan,” she quickly whispers.

            The realization is clear on Jeff’s face.

            “Well when you put it that way,” he says. “Let’s move back home!”

            “And don’t stretch this out until New Year’s,” Catgirl tells Darklite. “I know that Fox and Lightning will be making the big trip up Friday, so you help them move that same day, nothing left behind. They get moved in as a Christmas present so that we can all celebrate the holiday. Then a day or so after Christmas, you help my family move to whatever house you find in San Leandro, so that we are settled in by New Year’s Eve. If you can’t promise that, then no deal.”

            “This initiative, this assertion,” Darklite says, “I like it! Fox and Lightning will be in Alameda while Catgirl goes to San Leandro.”

            Catgirl weirdly feels proud of herself.

            “Though, now I’ll have to meet with both your families to explain all of this,” Darklite says.

            The pride fades and now Catgirl feels really nervous.

           

            An hour later, Zoey returns home, but it’s not just her SUV. Two black Mercedes drive up to her house, and her parents obviously take notice. Zoey’s mother looks at Zoey’s father with concern as he opens up the door. They’re both relieved to see Zoey step out of the rear SUV, but then are immediately confused and concerned again.

            “Hi, Mom,” she says, “hi, Dad. Um, obviously there’s some explaining to do. And some planning to do.”

            Before her parents can ask what she means, Darklite steps out of the lead SUV.

            “Mr. and Mrs. Mizaki, I presume,” he says with a big smile as he walks up to the porch. “May I come in? It’s awfully cold out for California.”

            The sun goes down on San Leandro High as students return. Many have candles and flowers, while Gary has a poster. He needs some help with it while he leans on his crutch, as the leg wounded by the glass isn’t healed back to 100%.

            “Oh wow, Gary, this looks really great,” Cyndi says as she helps place his poster on its stand.

            “Yeah, I took Graphic Design this year,” he says as he adjusts the crutch.

            “Oh really?” Simon says. “Me, too.”

            “Huh. Small world.”

            “Yeah.”

            “So,” Gary says, “I was figuring everyone could sign this. I mean, we’d have no idea who to give it to as far as family, but it’ll still be cool for whoever they are to see how much we all appreciated and admired him.”

            “Oh that’s perfect,” Jenny says. “Maybe we can get permission to put this up in the main lobby or something.”

            “Yeah!” Cyndi says. “Then everyone can see our tribute to him. But, um, does anyone have a good marker? Like a Sharpie or something?”

            “Well obviously I came prepared,” Gary smiles as he pulls out a half dozen from a pocket in his cargo pants.

            The pens are passed around among the students for them to sign the white space on Gary’s poster. Cyndi and her friends sign first, each doing a letter in “RIP.” When Cyndi hands Simon a sharpie, he hesitates a moment. Him writing a message like this to himself was surreal to say the least. But he decides to go with “NEVER FORGET” in the middle, right below the K and T in “SPEKTRUM”.

            “Oh that looks great,” Jenny says.

            “Well, it’s Graphic Design, after all,” Simon shrugs.

            As the sun sets deeper and deeper, the candles are lit around the stand. The flowers are placed under the stand, safe from the flames. Everyone stands together quietly in a semi-circle in front of the poster. Not everyone at San Leandro High is present, but between students and families present, there’re at least 100 people.

            “Not quite the turnout I was expecting,” Cyndi says, feeling down. “Maybe we didn’t get the word out well enough.”

            “I’m sure I put it online in enough places,” Jenny says. “Maybe it being a Wednesday is the problem?”

            “Maybe,” Cyndi sighs.

            There are many hushed conversations in this group of 100. Many wonder the validity of The Spektrum working with Reciprocity Incorporated. Others wonder where such an organization has been all this time, and what they have done. Can they be trusted? Others are more concerned with what they’ll do now that they’re public.

            But others still focus on the point of being here, and that’s The Spektrum. They wonder who he really was, and think if there’s been someone who hasn’t shown up to school recently. Simon overhears these conversations and hopes no one thinks too hard, or else they’ll see no one’s missing.

            It’s about 6:30 when Cyndi starts considering ending the vigil. The 100 or so people being here was nice, but it doesn’t look like anyone else would be showing up. She works up the courage to speak up, but then notices more people coming in. And then more people, and then more people!

            “Sorry we’re late,” Bryan says for the group.

            “That’s okay,” Simon says. “At least you guys made it.”

            His friends take their turns signing the poster. Other people show up, and they take turns writing little things on the white space. At a certain point, there’s just no room left for much more than initials. It’s a bit disappointing, but it’s also really encouraging that that many people wanted to show they cared.

            Cyndi beams with a smile ear to ear as she looks out at the crowd of now a couple hundred people. She knows the school has a couple thousand or more students, and a good number of people here are parents, but that has its own encouraging silver lining.

            The hour is almost up, so Cyndi again works up her courage to speak to everyone. She gets up on top of a picnic table and everyone notices.

            “Um…” she starts loudly but nervously. “Thank you, everyone, for coming! Hopefully you can all hear me. Um, this was a really good turn out, even if it’s just the couple hundred something of us. I know that if The Spektrum were here, he’d be really glad to know even this many people were thankful for his heroism.”

            As the crowd murmurs with people agreeing, Cyndi gives Simon a knowing look, and they both smile.

            Well said, Cyndi, he thinks to himself, and you’re right. I am glad.

 

            Schools close for the “Winter Break”, and the Takagaki Family use that Thursday to prepare for their road trip up to the Bay Area. Things are more hectic this year, because of the sudden need for the family to move there on top of everything else.

            “Tell me again why we have to do this?” Mrs. Takagaki asks her two sons.

            “It’s save-the-world kind of stuff, mom,” Jeff says as he stacks boxes.

            “Well, it’s really more protect-Alameda kind of stuff,” Seth says as he finishes labelling another. “But yeah, we’ve got to cover Alameda while Zoey’s being made to cover San Leandro.”

            “But what about your father’s work?” she asks.

            “Dad’s a doctor, mom, he can just work at Alameda General again,” Seth says.

            “And you’re a Science Teacher,” Jeff says to their mother. “I’m sure you can get a job at one of the Alameda middle schools. You could probably get your job back at Lincoln!”

            “I’m still not quite clear on this,” their father, Mr. Takagaki, says. “You were hit with electricity and now you have electric powers?”

            “No, that’s just me, Pops,” Jeff says as he shows off his spark fingers. “Seth just makes his skin steel.”

            Seth shows that power off, going steel then going back.

            “Actually that should totally be your name,” Jeff says. “Steel Fox. Or maybe like, Heavy Metal Fox.”

            “Y’know, it would’ve been interesting if all of us got electric powers,” Seth says. “We’ve got all the same abilities so it’s about who uses them best.”

            “That’s boring,” Jeff says. “Variety is good. Plus, it’s like fate for our cat fanatic cousin to become part cat.”

            “True,” Seth nods.

            “I still don’t get how this brings about everyone in the family moving,” their dad says.

            “Because The Spektrum, the guy from San Leandro, was killed, Dad,” Seth says. “Someone needs to protect that city from space alien gangsters.”

            “Then, why weren’t you boys chosen for that job?” their dad asks.

            “Well, technically I was,” Seth says. “But Zoey didn’t want me moving out before graduating. Then she pitched a plan to Darklite about having us all back in the Bay Area eventually, and we just went with it.”

            “But, if we’re talking about keeping cities safe,” their dad says, “what about this town? Santa Cruz has just as many problems, if not more, than up North.”

            “Actually, that’s the one thing I’m okay with when it comes to leaving,” Mrs. Takagaki says. “Things have only gotten worse here since moving.”

            “But shouldn’t that be reason enough for you boys to stay and clean things up?” Mr. Takagaki asks.

            “It’s not a perfect plan, Pops,” Jeff says. “But maybe we can convince Reciprocity Inc. to look into it.”

            Their dad accepts this premise, but still feels a bit unsure of his sons trusting in such a group.

            “Chop chop, Pop Pop,” Jeff says. “We gotta pack whatever workout equipment you’re still using, then take the rest to Good Will or something.”

            “Now hang on,” their dad says in a hurry. “I’m still going to use the Bowflex, after the holidays, to work off what I eat.”

            “You’ve had a month to do that after Thanksgiving, Dear,” Mrs. Takagaki says. “The Bowflex is going.”

            “Aww…” Mr. Takagaki says sadly.

 

            Meanwhile, Zoey sits with Shaun at a table in the “Neptune Court” of Alameda’s South Shore Center. She has a worried look on her face over the look of uncertainty on his face.

            “You’re moving?” he asks. “In the middle of the school year?”

            “Like I said, it’s complicated,” she says, feeling bad just saying it. “But I promise, one day I’ll explain it to you.”

            “Why can’t you explain it to me now?”

            “Because, I just can’t,” she says, feeling worse. “It’s not easy to explain.”

            “Then, what?” he asks. “Are we… Are we breaking up?”

            “No!” Zoey says almost too panicky. “I-I mean… This move shouldn’t be forever. So there’s no need for that. We can have a sort of long distance relationship. San Leandro’s only the next town over, and you’ll be learning to drive, right? Even if this move lasts into the summer, you could drive there and we’d be able to see each other.”

            “Oh, that’s true,” he says.

            “See?” she says. “It’ll be fine. Just fine.”

            Zoey does her best to keep her smile.

            A part of me feels like I was saying that to convince myself more than convince Shaun, she thinks as the smile softens.

            “What about tomorrow?” he asks.

            “Tomorrow?” she repeats. “Oh, right, Rachel Borawski’s Christmas party. Um, well, my cousins arrive on Friday, too, so depending on how that goes, I’ll try to be there. No promises.”

            “Okay,” Shaun nods. “Hopefully I’ll see you there.”

            “Mhm,” she says with another forced smile.

            He gives her a kiss on the cheek, and he heads off. Zoey holds onto her smile until he’s out of sight.

 

            Bright and early on Friday morning, the Takagaki family arrives in Alameda. The moving truck leads the way, since Reciprocity Incorporated secured their new home.

            “This neighborhood looks familiar,” Mrs. Takagaki says.
            “Oh yeah,” Jeff says. “We used to hang out with a kid on this street. Cesar, right?”

            “Yeah,” Seth says, suddenly remembering it himself. “Cesar Martinez.”

            “Well, wait, then that means,” Jeff says as he looks around more closely.

            The moving truck makes the turn to the right, and all four of them realize what’s going on.

            “Did they really?” Jeff asks as he looks out his brother’s window.

            Everyone grows excited as they pull up to familiar homes. Three houses away, two houses away, then one house, they see their old home from when they first lived in Alameda. Their eyes all light up as they see it come into view, but then Mr. Takagaki notices the moving trucks keep going.

            “Oh,” he says. “They didn’t get us our old house after all…”

            Everyone feels down now as they park in front of the house right next door to their old one.

            “Wait, wasn’t this the Cliftons’ place?” Jeff asks as they get out of the car.

            “Yeah,” Seth says, “that old couple who were always such a pain.”

            “Mrs. Clifton was fine,” Mrs. Takagaki says. “She always made such nice casseroles.”

            “It was Mr. Clifton who was hard to deal with,” Mr. Takagaki says. “He always thought we were making too much noise, but then he could hardly hear us when we talked to him.”

            “It was hard to tell if he was a crazy old man or an obnoxious prankster,” Seth says as he and Jeff take things out of the car trunk.

            “Wait, what happened to them that we’re getting their house?” Jeff asks.

            The moving trucks open up and a very tall man with burly muscles, lots of tattoos and a mullet steps out. He hands Mr. Takagaki the keys to the house before going to the back of the truck.

            “Um, are you with Reciprocity Incorporated?” Mrs. Takagaki asks.

            “Yes,” the tall man says as he carries three big boxes at once.

            Mr. Takagaki goes to the front door and opens it up for the movers to pass through.

            “Could you tell us what happened to the Cliftons?” Mrs. Takagaki asks. “It wasn’t anything awful, was it? I know they were old, but I was sure they had plenty of years still in them.”

            “They didn’t die,” the tall man says.

            “Oh, that’s good,” Mrs. Takagaki says in a sigh of relief.

            “But then what happened?” Seth asks. “When did they move out of this house?”

            “A year ago,” the tall man says. “They moved to Hawaii for Mr. Clifton’s health.”

            “So this house was empty for an entire year?” Mr. Takagaki asks as the family gets its first look at the inside.

            “Pretty clean in here for being empty a whole year,” Jeff says.

            “There were other tenants,” the tall man says.

            “Okay so then what happened to them?” Jeff asks, just a little annoyed.

            “We paid them to move,” the tall man says.

            “What?” Mr. Takagaki. “You paid them to just up and leave?”

            “They accepted,” the tall man says matter-of-factly.

            “He has a point, Pops,” Jeff says. “Anyway, let’s figure out rooms and stuff. Dibs on the master bedroom.”

            Jeff stops on the stairs as both his phone and Seth’s phone go off with text message ringtones.

            “Oh hey, it’s Zoey,” Jeff says.

            Zoey: Heyo~! You guys in town yet? Let us know if you need help moving in! Or at least unpacking boxes.

            Jeff chuckles while Seth types a response.

            Seth: We just got in. Do you remember the Cliftons? We’re in their house now, it’s right next door to our old place. And yes plz there’s plenty of stuff you can help us with.

          The tall man and the other Reciprocity Incorporated movers get in the heavy furniture, like the couch, chairs and tables. Reciprocity Inc. even has fresh mattresses, though the Takagakis kept the old bed frames.

            About ten minutes later, Zoey and her parents arrive. They spot the really tall man with tattoos as he easily brings in Aunt Takagaki’s hope chest that she inherited from her mother, Grandma Kobayashi, by himself.

            “That’s everything,” the tall man says.

            “Pretty impressive,” Mr. Takagaki says. “All of that and it didn’t even take half an hour.”

            “We are always efficient,” the tall man says.

            “So there’s nothing for us to move in?” Mrs. Mizaki asks her brother.

            “Don’t worry, there’s plenty to help with,” Mr. Takagaki says with a smirk. “Come on in.”

            “Make sure you are ready on Tuesday, December 27th,” the tall man says to the Mizaki family.

            “Oh, so you are with Reciprocity,” Zoey says.

            “Yes,” he says. “We’ll be arriving that morning, so make sure you have everything packed by then.”

            “Understood,” Zoey says.

            The tall man leaves with the rest of his movers, and the extended Mizaki-Takagaki family works on setting up beds and moving furniture around.

 

            “One,” The Spektrum, Code Silver, counts. “Two. Three!”

            He deadlifts an old four-door sedan off its left tires, shifts his grip, and flips it all the way over! Cyndi laughs in surprise at the crunching and cracking of the roof under the weight of the body.

            “Awesome!” Cyndi says. “That was almost 2500 pounds! That’s like, what? Twenty times your own weight?”

            “Maybe,” he says. “I haven’t weighed myself in awhile.”

            “Well,” Cyndi says as she looks him up and down from her seat on a car hood. “Yeah, you definitely have to be 125. Actually, you’re kinda skinny then.”

            Spektrum jokingly makes an offended scoffing sound and Cyndi laughs.

            “How about Code Black now?” she asks as she tosses him a bottle of water.

            “What do you mean?” he asks as he catches it.

            “We need to see how strong he is to compare to Silver,” she says as he takes big swigs. “We’ve established Silver is the strongest, but wouldn’t it be good to see by how much?”

            “Good point,” he says as he puts the cap back on the bottle.

            Spektrum tosses the bottle back to Cyndi, and she less catches it as makes sure it doesn’t fall out of her lap. The Spektrum walks back to the sedan as he changes from Silver to Black, the hoodie changing with the rest of the wardrobe. As Code Black, he squats and prepares to deadlift. He gets a grip underneath what was the bottom of the passenger side window, and braces himself.

            “One. Two. Three!”

            He lifts and gets the car up, but struggles to get it up higher. He grits his teeth as he feels the weight getting the better of him. With one loud grunting shout, he gets the car up again, then all the way back over.

            “Nice!” Cyndi says. “It wasn’t as easy, but he got it over.”

            “I think Code Black’s strength is focused somewhere else,” he says as he makes a wide circle with his right arm.

            “Like where?” Cyndi asks.

            Code Black wraps his hand around the surviving rear view mirror from behind, and crushes it!

            “Whoa!” Cyndi says as the glass explodes out. “That’s some serious finger strength.”

            Code Black lets go of the mirror and claps the dirt off his glove. He changes back to Silver, and he walks over to where Cyndi sits.

            The car graveyard, as Cyndi called it in her text, let them in because the owner is a friend of Cyndi’s mother. At the same time, they were to promise the owner to not break too many things, because the cars here could still be considered merchandise. Cyndi said beating up one car would be fine, so that’s why the one 1991 Mercury Tracer has been the focus of his workout.

            “Okay, enough strength training,” Cyndi says as Spektrum takes more big swings. “Let’s get to cardio and those light ropes.”

            “Right,” he says as he stops chugging. “Hold onto my jacket.”

            He takes off the hoodie, and it changes from the sparkling gray with camo-flaunt zipper and strings into a normal flat gray with all gray things. Cyndi holds onto it, noticing the lingering warmth. As Spektrum walks away, Cyndi sneaks some snuggles with the hood itself.

            Spektrum runs and his ropes appear. He goes back and forth a few times then slows to a stop. He grabs the ropes, but simply stands there.

            “What’s wrong?” she asks.

            “It’s hard to explain,” he says. “I can’t use Code Red, but I can tell what he’d do with the ropes. He’d springboard and slingshot all over the place.”

            “I get springboard, but ‘slingshot’?”

            “The ropes have elasticity enough for the springboard, where you jump on them and then launch off. So you can use that same elasticity to kinda throw yourself forward.”

            “Oh cool. What does that look like?”

            “Well, it’d be easier to show you if I could be Code Red.”

            “I’m sure Silver can try, though, right?”

            “I guess,” he says with a sigh.

            He grips the top rope, pulls on it to get a feel for them in his arms. He pulls back while crouching, leaps forward, but then awkwardly goes up and over, and almost falls on his face! He gets his arms under him and avoids eating dirt.

            “Oh!” Cyndi says. “Oh, man! Oh, sorry, I’m, I don’t mean to be laughing. Are you okay?”

            “Yes,” he says in a flustered huff as he stands back up.

            He brushes off the dirt before going through the top and middle ropes to get back to the other side.

            “Why did you go back like that?” she says. “You could’ve tried another slingshot.”

            “No, I’m not,” he says. “Not as Silver. And I was going inside.”

            “Inside? They’re just ropes.”

            “Well it’s like a polarity,” he says. “Magnets have north and south, these ropes have inside and outside.”

            “But why is it inside and outside? There aren’t corners.”

            A lightbulb goes off in Spektrum’s head. He walks forward and the ropes follow him. He watches the ropes closely, and it takes him by surprise to see ropes appear in front of him, for the two to intersect at a corner!

            “There IS a corner!” he shouts excitedly with arms up. “And there’s even buckle pads, and a post!”

            The Spektrum hops up onto the middle rope to pose, as if there was an audience of thousands and not just Cyndi on the hood of a Honda.

            “So would Silver be able to use that?” she asks as he climbs down. “Or is that still more of a Code Red thing?”

            “Well, I suppose I could still use a corner as Silver or Black,” he says with a shrug. “But yeah, it’s definitely something Red could use. Oh, if I’d known this corner was here, I’d have used it for the Red Star frog splash this entire time…”

            “Well you’ll be able to when you get him back,” she says as he makes it all disappear.

            “That’s true, I suppose,” he sighs as he walks over to her.

            She gives him back his hoodie and he puts it back on. Spectralization changes it again, but then it changes back with him as he returns to being normal Simon. Cyndi smiles as they each lean in towards each other. For the second time since they met, she surprises him with a kiss. However, this kiss is a bit longer than that first one. She smiles and blushes as she pulls back.

            “Y’know,” he says. “One of these days, we’re should try, what’s it called? Oh yeah, making out.”

            “Maybe,” she says with a little laugh. “Definitely.”

            “Well which is it?” he asks. “Maybe or definitely?”

            “Definitely maybe,” she laughs. “C’mon, let’s get going. I’m hungry so it’s lunch time.”

            Simon moves aside and she hops down off the car hood. The two of them quietly hurry out of the car graveyard and into the downtown area.